City Studies

We Own It

Making Policy Public

Get Involved

Whether you want to work with CUP, hire CUP, or come to one of our events, find out how you can get involved here.

One of the very best ways to support CUP’s work is by making a donation.

CUP depends on individual contributions to make the creative, accessible, and informative teaching tools that you have come to expect, and that our partner organizations have come to rely on. Make a contribution to meaningful civic engagement today.

Our projects are custom-made for the organizations that will use them in their work. We’d love to meet with you to find out your specific goals and show you our work. Projects are funded through a combination of service fees and grants. With enough lead time, we can work with your organization to apply for technical assistance funds for a project.

To find out more about our projects, or how we might work with your organization, contact CUP at 718-596-7721 or info (at) welcometocup.org

If you’d like to use CUP’s existing tools and resources, check out our products here. If you’d like to apply to our next round of Making Policy Public, find out when the next round of applications will be accepted here or sign up for our email list.

Youth Education Projects

We can develop customized, project-based in-class, after-school, or professional development programs for your school or organization, from a single workshop to a full semester of programming. CUP projects bring together professional artists and designers with New York City public high school students to investigate fundamental questions about how the city works.

In CUP projects, students develop design, critical thinking, research, and technical skills while learning to see their built environment – and their role in it – in a different way. Students collaborate with a teaching artist and each other to break down one of the city’s many complex systems and to create a teaching tool that helps other people learn about it too! Students present their final projects in a public event, developing presentation skills as well as confidence in their own work.

Projects culminate in high-quality final products. Previous projects have been featured in art venues like PS1, Anthology Film Archives, and the Venice Biennale, and used as educational tools by organizations like the Lower East Side Ecology Center, Chhaya CDC, the Fifth Avenue Committee, and the NY Department of Environmental Protection.

All of our projects are custom-made, and we’d love to meet with you to discuss your specific goals and show you what we can do. If you’re interested in having CUP work with your school, class, or afterschool program, please get in touch at 718-596-7721 or info (at) welcometocup.org

Our Youth Education programs are funded through a combination of program fees and grants. With enough lead time, we can work with your organization to raise funds for programming together.

We’re always on the lookout for talented teaching artists, designers, and visual artists to hire for individual projects. Check out our News & Events listings to find out about current opportunities, and join our email list to hear about future ones.

Summer internships (for pay or for school credit) are usually posted in February or March and can also be found in News & Events. We occasionally consider working with interns who can receive credit or payment from their school, during the Spring or Fall semesters. If you qualify and are interested, email us at info (at) welcometocup.org

From copy editors to transcribers to felt cutter-outers, CUP’s network of friends and volunteers are key collaborators in our projects. To volunteer with CUP, please fill out our volunteer form and tell us about your skills and interests. We’ll add you to our list and email you when new opportunities come up. You should also sign up for our email list, to find out about other opportunities.

Want to find out more about CUP? We open our doors to visitors on the last Friday of each month, by appointment. If you or your group would like to visit, please email us at info (at) welcometocup.org with the subject line “Friday open office.” Please include the following information:

If you’d like to invite CUP to take part in a publication, lecture, conference, exhibit, or other event, email us at info (at) welcometocup.org. To make it easier for us to get back to you quickly, please include the following information:

Your name:

Your organization:

Organization sponsoring the event:

Date(s) of event:

Deadline to RSVP:

Name of the event:

Short description of the event:

Role you would like CUP to play in the event:

Which of CUP’s programs/projects are you interested in for this event?

Does the sponsoring organization cover the costs of participating in the event?

Does the sponsoring organization pay an honorarium to cover the cost of CUP’s staff time?

Does the sponsoring organization cover travel costs to/from the event?

CUP’s work is largely supported by the generous donations of individuals and foundations that care about the city and how it works. Every donation, from $5 to $50,000 helps us to keep producing the high-quality projects you have come to expect from CUP.

If you would like to support our work, donate now through the secure donation form below:

Support CUP!

To make a secure online donation, please use the form below and then proceed to a check-out through Paypal or Network for Good.